


Coming Home

by PorcelainLove



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Hints of Akira/Ryuji, M/M, Single Parent Akira, Years after the game ends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 06:56:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16739206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PorcelainLove/pseuds/PorcelainLove
Summary: “Joker?”Akira froze, ice cream resting mere millimeters from his lips.  He hadn’t heard that nickname in years and yet in one fell swoop it all came back to him.  High school, the Metaverse, his friends…Good God he hadn’t seen them in so long.





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say, I love adding children into fics and seeing what happens. *shrug*
> 
> Also Ryuji is a darling and I love him.

“Joker?”

Akira froze, ice cream resting mere millimeters from his lips.  He hadn’t heard that nickname in years and yet in one fell swoop it all came back to him.  High school, the Metaverse, his friends…

Good God he hadn’t seen them in so long.

His pause allowed the child in front of him to successfully jump up and take a massive bite, the proud grin of a theft well planned melting Akira’s heart a bit more. He cast the boy a look of admonition that even he knew wouldn’t hold any ground before passing the whole cone over.  Then he took a deep breath and prepared himself. He turned around.

Ryuji stood behind him, a sprinkle-covered waffle cone in one hand and a skull-embossed wallet in the other.  His hair was still golden and those eyes were just as big, just as beautiful as the day Akira had last seen him.   The look of surprise on his face made his eyes deep pools that Akira could feel himself get lost in if he weren’t careful.  

Seeing Akira’s eyes flit back from the wallet to his face made the speaker smile, a grin that made him look so much younger Akira couldn’t help but remember the first time they’d met.

“I knew it!  It is you!” Ryuji whooped and, not giving his surroundings a second glance, dove in for a hug.  It was awkward considering Ryuji was holding ice cream and Akira was trying to keep his balance on a slightly wobbly stool but it was everything Akira wanted but never knew he needed. It helped settle that painful emptiness in Akira’s gut that had taken root and infected his heart for the past number of years.  

He’d felt strange coming back to the city after so many years away, had had a bad feeling he’d meet someone from his past who wouldn’t remember him kindly.  Thankfully that fear was misplaced.

“It’s been too long.”  Akira was struggling to maintain his composure even though all he wanted to was grab his friend and never let go.  His ex-friend? Once friend? But titles like that didn’t matter anymore, not when it was clear that any bad thoughts had clearly been forgotten.

Ryuji thumped down onto the stool beside Akira, the invitation to sit down not even needing to be verbalized to be understood.  his eyes flitting across the table to the boy still sitting there. The boy, to his credit, was simply watching. His large blue eyes cutting between the two men before him and his plastic cup filling with slowly melting Strawberry Surprise.

“Hello.” He whispered shyly as he bit his lower lip in a gesture that Akira rarely saw.  Shy? Quiet? Extremely out of place. If they were at home he’d have thought it a precursor to naughtiness but this seemed different.

“Hey there bud, what’s your name?” Ryuji asked, his voice comforting and light.  How mere words and tone could be as soothing as a warm blanket, Akira never knew but it was the most apt description he could come up with. 

But the boy had already vanished back into his own little world, dipping his spoon in and out of his ice cream cup to watch it drip slowly off the white plastic. Akira wanted to say something but stifled the reaction.  He used to do the same thing as a child. Loved stirring the ice cream until it was more liquid than anything and then slurping it up with a grin. His parents hated the noises and always yelled at him.

But he wasn’t his parents.

“This is Ren. My… son.”

He was expecting blank-faced shock, maybe a little surprised laughter or even a clap on the back with a mild lecherous smirk.  What he got was a warm hand on his shoulder and a tight squeeze. 

“Congratulations Akira, I’m so happy for you.”  His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes but Akira chose to believe that was purely because of surprise and not because Ryuji didn’t mean what he was saying.  “You always took such good care of us, I knew you’d make a great dad.”

That was… sweet.  And frankly not what Akira was expecting to hear.  After Ryuji and Ann and Yusuke and… everybody he’d spent so many months getting to know wished him off, he’d expected to talk to them all the time via text or phones or even snail mail. Something.  But his parents had other plans. Told him that after all the deaths and trauma of that time, he needed a fresh start.

They shipped him halfway around the world. Sure, they came with him until he was settled and their finances assured that he’d be well taken care of when he left but… they also replaced his phone.  Probably thought they were being helpful, getting him one with their names and important people fully loaded. They just didn’t add all the right people.

And try as he might, Akira had no addresses for any of his friends, despite going to their homes multiple times.  He had no numbers memorized - why should he when his phone was always within his grasp? Akira always thought that Futaba would be the one to crack it all, just show up as his house one day with the gang in tow.  They’d all smack him once or twice out of fake anger and they’d be friends once more. 

But that never happened.

As the months passed, Akira had less and less time to scour the internet.  Heck, it wasn’t as good in those days as it is now. It was almost like they’d all vanished - like his entire year in Tokyo had just been one fantastic dream.

After a while he gave up looking and assumed they had as well. Or maybe they thought he was the one calling it quits, as much as it hurt to think.

So Akira threw himself into his studies and told himself that one day he’d go back.  He just didn’t expect his life to change so drastically along the way.

He let loose one night, it was New Year’s eve and everyone who wasn’t a total shut in was out partying on the streets or in the clubs.  Akira remembered drinking more than he should of. He was part of a club-hopping group and the most he could recall is that he visited at least 5 places that evening, imbibing well over the legal limit.  

He woke up the next morning extremely sore, in a cheap motel room, smelling of even cheaper perfume, beside a half-naked girl and a completely naked man.  He recognised her from one of his language classes but the man was a mystery.

He left the two of them entwined in each other, his phone number written on a scrap of paper on the bedside table in case there were any questions.  Not that he would probably have known the answers.

He also made a resolution to never drink anything harder than coffee until he died.

Akira’s life turned upside when, just under a year later, the same girl (who, Akira had noticed hadn’t come to classes all semester) showed up at his door with a tiny bundle.  She shoved the softly snoring wad of blankets into his arms and presented him with a pen and a bundle of papers.

_ It’s yours. _ She’d said.  _ Either take it or he’s going up for adoption. I’m too young to be a single mom. _

Akira had, in a daze, and before he knew it he was hiring a babysitter while he went to work.  Took night classes with an understanding teacher and baby spit on his shirts. Was complaining to managers about the lack of change tables in the men’s washrooms.  Was crying himself to sleep because another nosy grandmother had told him off for not holding his baby properly.

The years passed slowly at the time but in retrospect it seemed like only yesterday that baby Ren (the name was the only thing the mother had gifted) been thrust upon him.  Life was hard, really hard, but Akira was proud of how much he - how much  _ they _ had come.

Akira blinked in surprise when he noticed both Ren and Ryuji staring at him.

“What?”

“I asked if you were free for dinner.” Ryuji said, looking concerned.  “I’ve got a decent apartment and I’ve graduated to mean cook so… it would be awesome if you guys could come over and keep me company.”

“Won’t Ann mind us dropping in unexpectedly?”

Ryuji blinked and opened his mouth before snapping it shut without a word.  He looked uncomfortable, suddenly, and Akira wished he could take the question back.  It just came out, and after all Ryuji’s moaning about Ann being perfect and Ann actually beginning to admire Ryuji by the end of it all…

“I’m sorry, that was rude of me.” Akira said, mentally slamming his head against the table.  Even his son was giving him a look. “Assumptions, right? Make an ass out… well, you know.” He looked down and prayed for the ground to swallow him up.

“It’s okay.”

Akira looked up. The smile was back on Ryuji’s face but it looked out of place, wrong somehow.  

“Ann and I didn’t work out.” It was said with such finality that Akira knew asking more questions would only make it worse.  Oddly enough, Ryuji continued on his own with only a brief pause to lick a line of dripping ice cream before it reached his hand.  He munched on for another moment or too before wiping his chin with his thumb, getting an errant drip off before Akira could think to offer a napkin.

Ryuji sucked his thumb into his mouth and Akira had to pull his eyes away because that tongue, those lips, the faint rasp of teeth on skin that Akira could somehow  _ feel _ … 

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s ancient history now, don’t worry.  Last I heard, she was married. Makoto too, come to think of it.” Ryuji lifted up the fingers of his free hand and ticked them off.  

“Yusuke’s gone, he’s some famous artist now but I still get messages from him every once in a while.  Even sent me an actual letter once - can you imagine, actual snail mail in this day and age? I could totally auction it for some major cash if I were that desperate.”  Ryuji smiled in a way that Akira knew he was joking.

“Futaba’s still single, but happily so. Haru too, she’s sworn off men.  Well, they both did I guess. I don’t think anyone could ever get as close to Futaba as you did, and you were always second down the line from her computers.  Heard a rumour she was hired by the government but for all I know she started that herself so people would quit bothering her.”

“Morgana?”

There was laughter as Ryuji dug out his phone and opened his photos up for Ren and Akira to see.  He let Ren swipe his sticky fingers through what seemed like an endless number of cat-candids and Akira was really happy that Ren was actually being included and not ignored.  A lot of people, he’d noticed, especially single men, didn’t know what to do with kids around.

“That damn cat is here one moment, gone the next.  He always hated me the most out of everyone but I always manage to find him stalking me.  Fish bones in odd places, windows left open when I know I shut them. Black hair on my pillow.   _ My pillow _ !” Ryuji yelled dramatically, drawing looks from the other patrons and giggles from Ren.  

Ren reached out and, upon Ryuji bending his head, pet the fluffy blond hair with great interest.

“I like your hair.”  The child said simply, and turned to beam at his father.  His mother had been blonde too, not that Ren would have remembered that.

“Me too.” Ryuji answered solemnly.  “It’s my charm point, don’t you think?” He tilted his head up and winked at Akira who was embarrassed to feel his cheeks grow hot.

“But your hair is even more gorgeous, little man.  And not ruined by monthly dye-jobs. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about conforming to ridiculous social norms, not with the life I lead anyhow.  And I’ve got my own business too, which is pretty awesome.” Ryuji turned back to look fully at Akira, letting Ren hold the sticky phone and skip through pictures to his heart’s content.

“And what about you, what brings you back here? Hot date?”  Ryuji polished off the rest of his ice cream as Akira laughed dismissively and threw a glance at his son.  Ren wasn’t paying either of them the slightest attention, seemingly deaf and blind to everything that wasn’t electronic and handheld.

“No, no dates for me.  Don’t want to put my son through all that business, especially with someone he might soon have to forget.”  Akira held in a huff of sadness at that. Single men finding dates was hard enough, let alone single men who were interested in other men.  Women… he could respect their poise and beauty but in terms of a life partner? Akira admitted his preferences leaned slightly more to the masculine side of things.

When Akira looked back, he caught Ryuji’s eyes giving him the once-over and was mildly pleased that he’d actually put a minute or two of effort into his appearance that day.  There was a tiny tapping noise and Akira noticed movement coming from below. Ryuji’s leg was bouncing, like it always used to when he was nervous.

Ryuji’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, clearly arguing with himself and thinking a mile a minute.  Akira let him have all the time he needed and looked around the room. It was emptying out, pretty soon they’d have to leave unless they wanted to have the serving staff hate them.  Akira was content to just sit in silence, watching the sway of their waitress’s sleeve wiggle with vigour as she cleaned the empty tables with a damp cloth.

“I’m gay.”

Akira felt his mouth drop open in shock as he looked back at Ryuji, the tips of his pink ears visible from behind his blond curls.  

“Pardon me?”

Ryuji lowered his voice even though Akira doubted anyone was listening in, or even cared.

“I said I’m gay.  That’s why Ann and me didn’t work out.  I wanted her for so long but by the time I actually… well, the interest wasn’t there in  _ all _ of me, you get it?”

Akira nodded.  He didn’t need more of an explanation than that, especially not around his all-too-smart son.

“I’m happy for you.  It meant a lot that you’re telling me this, especially after all this time.”

“Yeah… such a weird thing, us meeting up like this out of the blue.  Almost like fate.”

“Sure, I guess…?” Akira wasn’t sure where Ryuji was leading with this, and he kept feeling the lingering stares of the waitress at his back.  Yup, it was definitely time to start getting ready.

“What I’m trying to say is…” Ryuji took a deep breath, bracing himself.  “It’s taken me all this time to fully acknowledge it even though I knew it deep down a long time ago.  Seeing you just brought everything all back full force and…  _ God _ , Akira, you’ve been gone for so long.”

Akira could feel his heart leap into his throat because he  _ knew _ was Ryuji was going to say next and he  _ couldn’t _ , he didn’t want to hear it.  Not because he had anything against Ryuji, fuck no, but because he was a father now.  He didn’t have time to sleep, most days, let alone date. But the interest was there and it was  _ strong _ and part of Akira felt the same, like he’d lost a chunk of himself the last time he’d seen his best friend.

“I’ve been in love with you for years, and I know that you couldn’t possibly feel the same - hell, you’ve got a son, you’re bound to be straight.  But I just couldn’t hold it in any longer and I just… I want to spend more time with you, both of you, if you’ll let me. No presumptions, no pressure just… I haven’t felt like this, been this happy in so long.  I don’t want to lose that - lose you, not if I can help it.”

Ren was staring at the phone in his hands but his fingers had stopped moving long ago. He was clearly listening in and Akira wasn’t sure what to do because he hadn’t exactly discussed this kind of thing with his son - sexuality on the whole, not just his - and he was a little angry at Ryuji for just blurting everything out without even…

“Daddy, you have this picture too.”  Ren tilted the screen, showing off a photo that Akira and Ryuji had taken on their last day together.  

Ryuji had plastered himself against Akira’s side and planted a dramatic kiss on his cheek.  Akira, who had the inklings of a crush on Ryuji for a while (but chose to believe that they were just feelings of close friendship) was red in the face and laughing.  Akira wasn’t sure who took the photo, it might even have been Ann, but he remembered how he felt. As happy as he looked, there was sorrow. He hadn’t wanted to let that feeling go for a long time, he hadn’t wanted to leave his friends.  Leave… Ryuji. 

And Ren was right, he did have the picture.  It was in his wallet, folded up and hidden behind his Suica train pass.

Ryuji looked hopeful and Akira was still processing.  Ren looked between the both of them and sighed, a noise that made him seem years older than he was.

“Daddy’s lonely.  He thinks he needs to be, but I’m not a baby anymore.  I want him to be happy too.”

Akira could feel himself tearing up and he blinked rapidly to quell the emotional outpouring.  He often forgot that as much as he cared and put his whole being into his son, the child wasn’t oblivious.

There was a clattering noise to their right and the waitress entered Akira’s peripheral vision holding a mop and bucket.  Closing time for sure.

Ryuji took his phone back from Ren, bending his head for a second to catch something the boy was saying under his breath, and wiped his hands with a napkin before standing up.  He helped Ren over the stools and scooted him towards the door before turned back to face Akira.

“I’m not asking or demanding anything, I’m just… I’d like to see you more, that’s all.  And if you need a place to stay, and it’s not awkward, I have more than enough room for the both of you.”  He offered his hand.

It seemed like more than just a hand up to Akira, but the truth of the matter was that he had been looking for a reason to stay.  He’d been looking for a lot of things and with his son’s words came a glimmer of hope that he wasn’t doomed to bachelorhood for the rest of his life.

Akira took Ryuji’s hand and pulled himself to his feet, letting his fingers linger a moment longer than was socially acceptable.  Ryuji’s lip twitched as he tried not to smile.

“He told me you like blonds.”

“He’s really trying today, huh.”

Ryuji’s face fell but lit up when Akira pulled him into a tight hug. “But he’s not wrong.”

“You think you might learn to like this loudmouthed one?” Ryuji whispered into Akira’s ear, making Akira shiver with more than just goosebumps.

Akira whispered back, “I just might learn to love him.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy endings never get old. <3


End file.
